The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Tuesday that their star pacer Jofra Archer will miss out on the upcoming Ashes series after being ruled out of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season. The news was revealed when the squad for England's one-off Test against Ireland was released.
“It has been a frustrating and upsetting period for Jofra Archer. He was making good progress until a recurrence of the elbow injury, which kept him out for an extended period previously. We wish him the best of luck with his recovery.
"I’m sure we will see Jofra back to his best and winning games for England, whatever the format. Hopefully, sooner rather than later," the official statement read.
He will now continue his rehabilitation with the England and Sussex medical teams after returning from the IPL.
Archer was touted to lead the MI bowling attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah but went on to play only five of the 10 games when he was part of the squad. He picked up only two wickets at an economy rate of 9.50.
This is the latest of many injuries for Archer, who has been unlucky in this department for the better part of three years. He made a return to international cricket in January 2023, although only in the white-ball formats during the series against South Africa and Bangladesh.
He last played a Test for England back in February 2021, against India in Ahmedabad.
His elbow issues started in early 2020 when he sustained a stress fracture that sidelined him for the first half of the year. In early 2021, he had to go under the knife after a freak injury at home. A stress injury on his back in May 2022 put him on the shelf for the entirety of the year.
His absence will sorely be missed. Since his injury, he has missed two T20 World Cups, including England’s victory in Australia in October, as well as the previous Ashes tour Down Under in 2021-22.
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